


home is where you are

by punkhale



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coffee Shops, College, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Gift Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 14:06:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3449897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkhale/pseuds/punkhale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a long build-up. A series of lingering glances, affectionate smiles, and fingers brushing when exchanging notes for class.</p>
            </blockquote>





	home is where you are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Paintblot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paintblot/gifts).



> Written for [thepaintblot](http://thepaintblot.tumblr.com/) and beta'd by the lovely [Ally](http://bitchinachinashop.tumblr.com/).

It was a long build-up. A series of lingering glances, affectionate smiles, and fingers brushing when exchanging notes for class. Lydia was going to school for engineering, Scott to be a vet, but their gen eds were the same and Lydia was helping Scott get through the required math class. They sat in the back of the classroom at 9:30 am every Monday and Wednesday, Lydia with an Americano and Scott with Pop Tarts; Lydia diligently taking notes and letting Scott copy them later in the day when he was more awake.

They spent a lot of time together.

Stiles went to the same school as they did, as a criminal justice major, and he and Scott roomed together -- no big surprise there. Lydia had hoped Allison would join them, but she’d chosen a French university that had a long Argent family history. She couldn’t blame Allison for going, but she missed her best friend. Kira had gone to school in New York, and Malia had taken off on a trip with Derek to visit Cora in South America.

The pack had split up. Not officially, of course -- they were still a pack, would always be a pack, but everyone was off in their own direction. Everyone except for Stiles, Scott, and herself. Beacon Hills had driven so many people away, but Lydia had always felt compelled to stay close to home. Her mother had been thrilled to find out she was going to school only a few hours away. She knew eventually she would have to leave, she refused to go anywhere less than Ivy League for grad school, but for now California was home.

Besides, Scott would never pass their functions class without her. And if she enjoyed eliciting smiles from her best friend’s ex a little too much, well, it was hard not to.

\--

“You’re going to be late for your writing class if you don’t get up and get dressed,” Lydia said, tossing a pair of jeans at Scott’s sleeping form. She heard a groan and some mumbling from under the blankets, and a few seconds later Scott’s head appeared.

“How’d you get in?” he asked, words slurring slightly from sleep.

“Stiles let me in,” she replied, leaning against the side of his desk.

Scott sat up, his hair sticking out and an impression of the pillow on his left cheek. Lydia felt the urge to reach out and touch him, smooth down his wild hair, but she resisted.

“Where’s Stiles?”

“He went to class, which is where you need to go in the next ten minutes.”

Scott scrunched up his nose in displeasure. “Who are you, my mom?”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “I can call your mother if you would like. I’m sure she’d have something to say about you sleeping through writing class.”

“Alright, alright,” he said, throwing back the blankets and grabbing the jeans Lydia had thrown at him. His boxers were green plaid; Lydia tried not to stare. They’d moved past a lot of their modesty with each other (living in the dorms helped with that) but staring definitely crossed a line.

“Lunch when you get back?”

“Of course,” he replied, pulling on his sneakers.

Lydia watched him as he tied the laces and tossed books into his backpack. His hair was still a mess. She pushed off the desk and crossed the room to him, reaching up to smooth it down while he zipped the bag. He smiled down at her.

“Thanks.”

“Well, I can’t let you leave looking like you just rolled out of a trash can.”

“Sure you can.”

“Not if I want to be seen with you later.”

He slung the bag over his shoulder and Lydia stepped back a bit.

“Are you hanging out here?” he asked.

“For a bit. I told Stiles I’d look over his math homework.”

He nodded, looking around the room quickly. Checking to see if he had everything he needed, she presumed.

“Got a pen?” Scott was always forgetting a pen.

He snapped his fingers and pointed at her, grinning and grabbing one off his desk. “Thanks Lyds.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Go, before you’re late.”

He shoved the pen in his pocket and then leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head. And then he was gone, leaving Lydia to stare after him, her eyes wide and her chest filling up with warmth.

\--

It took her twice as long to review Stiles’ homework as it usually did, her mind wandering back to the kiss. It had been more of a peck, really, and only on the top of her head, but it had stirred something up deep inside her. She’d had sex with guys and felt less of a reaction than she’d had to just that innocent peck.

She was anxious to see him again. Which was ridiculous, because it was _Scott_ \-- he was her best friend, after Allison.

She was crushing on her best friend’s ex-boyfriend. She groaned, banging her head lightly on the desk, Stiles’ homework still in front of her. How had this happened? Scott McCall was not her type. He was goofy and wore gym shorts most of the time. He went to class with blanket impressions on his face. He didn’t care at all what other people thought of him, only his pack. The pack was the most important thing to him.

It was the most important thing to Lydia, too. It was why she was still in California, after all, and not at MIT where her AP calculus teacher had said she belonged.

Lydia had never really known where she belonged. Being popular and at the top of her graduating class hadn’t given her a home; Scott had done that. Someday maybe she would be strong enough to leave, but she wasn’t ready yet.

\--

With an hour to kill before she was supposed to meet Scott for lunch, Lydia Skyped Allison, who picked up after only a few rings. The sight of her best friend’s smiling face sent a surge of happiness through her. Allison _had_ been strong enough to leave, Isaac trailing behind her to continue his French studies, and Lydia missed her fiercely.

“Hey Lyds!” she greeted cheerfully, and Lydia found herself returning her smile easily.

“Hey Ally, how are you?”

“I’m great, I have a huge project due tomorrow that I’m pretty sure I’m going to fail, but other than that everything is great.”

“You’re not going to fail,” came Isaac’s voice from somewhere else in the room, out of view of the camera.

Allison glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m glad one of us has faith in me.”

“You won’t fail,” Lydia agreed. “And hello Isaac.”

“Hey Lydia,” he replied, his head appearing over Allison’s shoulder. He’d gotten a haircut since the last time she’d seen him, his sides shaved and the curls on the top of his head long and unruly. It suited him.

“How’s everyone?” he asked.

“Yeah, how is everyone else doing?” Allison seconded, leaning her elbows on the desk and resting her head in one of her palms.

“Everyone is good,” Lydia replied. “Stiles has only puked from drinking too much twice, and Scott has only skipped our functions class once.”

“Impressive,” Allison said, but Isaac frowned behind her.

“Stiles has only puked twice?”

Lydia arched a brow. “Yeah, why?”

“No reason,” he said quickly. Lydia narrowed her eyes and Allison laughed.

“He may have a bet going with Derek.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Isaac said. “Whatever, there’s still time for me to win. I’ve got to run to work though. Nice to see you, Lydia!”

“You, too,” she said. A minute later she and Allison were alone on the line again.

“So tell me about you,” Allison said. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh not much. Class, homework, keeping the boys in line, repeat. The usual. What about you?”

“The same mostly, only I’ve just got one boy to keep in line. Although one of my second cousins keeps dropping by, so sometimes I have to keep him and Isaac from wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting public.”

Lydia laughed, but her chest felt like a butterfly cage. She had to meet Scott soon, and she’d called Allison for a reason, after all. Allison seemed to notice something was up after she waited a beat too long to reply. Her face went from amused to concerned.

“What is it, Lyds? You look like you want to say something.”

Lydia took a deep breath and nodded, trying to feel as brave as she was pretending to be. Allison was her best friend, she could tell her anything. But she was also Scott’s ex-girlfriend. Among werewolves and kitsunes and druids, how on earth had this become one of the most complicated parts of her life?

“It’s about Scott,” she said after a long moment. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Okay,” Allison said, her face blank. Lydia wished she wasn’t so far away; it was so hard to read people over Skype.

“Okay," she started, her gaze falling to her keyboard as the words rushed out. "I think I like him. As more than a friend. And I don't know how it happened, but he's your ex and I just wanted you to know, and I won't act on it at all of it makes you uncomfortable because you're my best friend and I would never do anything to hurt you and-"

"Lydia," Allison said, cutting off her rambling.

Lydia looked up from the space bar, which had become very interesting in the last minute, to find her best friend grinning at her.

"I don't mind," Allison assured her. "In fact, I was wondering when I was going to hear from you. I got a call from Scott last week."

Lydia blinked. "Scott called you?"

"Yeah, wanted to tell me how much he cared for you, promising not to do anything if I wasn't okay with it. You two are so predictable."

Lydia stared at her, lips parted in a small "o" of surprise. Allison laughed again.

"Look, it's fine by me. Scott's an amazing guy. Probably one of the only guys out there good enough for the great Lydia Martin. If you really care about him, let him know."

Lydia smiled softly at the memory of him kissing her head only a few hours ago. Allison wasn't mad at her. Scott felt the same way about her as she did him."Thanks, Ally. You're the best.”

“I know,” she said, waving her hand. “Now go do something about it.”

\--

Lydia really didn’t want to have a conversation about her feelings in the crowded dining hall. She texted Scott ten minutes before their usual meeting time and told him she was in the mood for some decent coffee (the dining hall stuff was basically sludge in a cup), so she was going to the cafe down the road and he was welcome to join her. He responded almost immediately, promising to be there.

She contemplated changing into something nicer and pulling her hair back, but decided against it. Scott didn’t care what she looked like; it was one of the things she adored about him. She could always be completely herself when they were together.

He hadn’t arrived yet when she got to the cafe, so she claimed a corner table by one of the many large windows. There was a plant hanging from the window over part of the table, its long vines draping down, but at least it was somewhat private. She ordered a latte while she waited, scrolling through her Twitter feed and fighting the urge to continuously look towards the entrance to see if he was there yet. She didn’t have to wait long. She gave a nervous smile as she saw Scott come through the door. He waved and went to order coffee; a minute later he was settled across from her looking even more nervous than she was.

“Hi,” he said, a tentative smile tugging at his lips.

“Hi,” she replied. A long moment of silence stretched between them, and Lydia was tempted to declare she had somewhere to be and run.

“Listen,” Scott said finally. “I’m sorry about earlier, with the, you know.” He gestured towards her head and then at himself. “I didn’t mean to be weird, I don’t know what came over me. It’s just that I… I like you.” He stopped, his cheeks flushed as he turned his attention to the coffee in front of him.

Lydia smiled, her nerves settling. Part of her hadn’t believed Allison when she’d said Scott had feelings for her, too. Girls like Lydia didn’t end up with guys like Scott; not that she had ever seen, at least.

“It’s okay,” she said, reaching across the table to take his hand in hers, threading their fingers together. He was warm, and the feeling of his skin on hers made her feel fuzzy inside. She didn’t know why Scott liked her, not when he’d dated such sweet girls as Allison and Kira, but she wasn’t about to miss her chance. “I like you, too.”

Scott looked up from his coffee, eyes wide as he broke out into a huge smile. It was the kind of smile that could light up a room. “Yeah?”

She nodded, grinning at how happy he looked. _She_ had made him smile like that. “Yeah.”

He squeezed her hand gently, staring into her eyes for a few long seconds. It made Lydia feel like she was in some kind of gooey romance movie. Surprisingly, she found she didn’t care.

“Can I kiss you now?” he asked, and if Lydia could smile any wider she would.

“Yes please.”

He leaned across the table, careful to avoid the coffee, and softly pressed their lips together. It was short and sweet and made Lydia’s chest feel like it was going to explode. He pulled away a little and she chased after him, kissing him again. He grinned against her lips and let her be the one to pull away this time. She felt giddy with happiness, unsure what twist of fate led her to this moment, but so grateful it had.

“I vote we do a lot more of that in the future,” Scott said, sitting back down but never letting go of her hand.

“Scott McCall, I think that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”


End file.
